Inaugural Michelin SW guide snubs Tucson restaurants

In fact, only one — Flagstaff’s upscale modern American restaurant Atria — among the 19 Arizona restaurants that made the cut is from outside of Scottsdale and Phoenix. Atria was one of a dozen Arizona restaurants to be listed as “recommended” in the guide, designating them as above-average quality food.

The guide includes restaurants in Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada, where Michelin awarded four restaurants the coveted Michelin star, including two stars for Restaurant de Joël Robuchon from the celebrated chef Joël Robuchon. A Michelin star is regarded as the most prestigious global culinary designation.

The Michelin Guide Southwest, unveiled at a ceremony in Las Vegas on Wednesday, has been in the works since 2024, when the Arizona Office of Tourism pitched in $200,000 to partner with its neighbors on the inaugural Southwest guide. The guide wasn’t made public until last December, and Michelin reviewers likely did not get to work until the spring. 

At least that’s Visit Tucson President and CEO Felipe Garcia’s educated guess.

Garcia said there is no real way of telling, though, since the reviewers work in complete anonymity. Michelin on its website said the reviews can take place anywhere from a month to 12 months prior to the guide’s announcement.

But Garcia said he’s confident reviewers visited Tucson, although he was disappointed and surprised that no Tucson restaurants were listed.

“I know we have the quality restaurants,” he said of Tucson being snubbed. “But we know this is a long-term game.”

Garcia said he has been told by tourism representatives in other Michelin guide cities not to be “surprised or disappointed if you get nothing.”

“That’s common in the first year,” he was told. “Then the second year, you get a larger number of restaurants and by the third year, it starts populating. It is going to be building every single year.”

Michelin began its pay-to-play partnership model in the mid-2010s, with Visit California being the first in the U.S. in 2019. Under the model, Michelin collects hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars from tourism boards and government agencies to introduce a Michelin guide for their area. The incentive is that having local restaurants highlighted will boost visibility and credibility, leading to increased tourism and tax revenues.

Although the states pay for the guide, Michelin maintains editorial control of its content. States cannot recommend which restaurants to visit or what areas; those decisions, according to Michelin, are based on buzz, food trends, media reviews and research.

Considering those criteria, it seems almost unfathomable that Tyler Fenton’s Bata at 35 E. Toole Ave. didn’t catch a Michelin reviewer’s attention. Bata, with its innovative, ever-changing menu, has been feted in a number of national publications including Bon Appétit, New York Times and Sunset Magazine since chef-owner Fenton opened the Tucson restaurant with siblings Zach and Courtney in spring 2022.

Boca by Chef Maria Mazon, who has appeared on a number of Food Network shows and Bravo’s “Top Chef” competition, seems like a no-brainer, as does El Charro Cafe, the nation’s oldest, continuously run family Mexican food restaurant.

Jonathan Mabry, Tucson City of Gastronomy executive director, wondered how much time Michelin reviewers spent in Tucson.

“I'm surprised that they did not notice what is happening in our chef community here,” he said.

Fenton, who watched Wednesday’s Michelin ceremonies from home, said he was excited that Arizona was finally being recognized, even if his beloved hometown was overlooked.

“But I'm definitely optimistic that Tucson will show up on that list next year, whether it's us or or any of the other handful, dozen restaurants in Tucson that I think are are really special,” he said. “If we get recognition from them or anyone else, it's amazing. But you know we're in it for ourselves and for our community and our guests and our team, and whatever recognition we get is amazing. We show up every day trying to be the best restaurant that we can be, and we're going to keep doing that.”

Although Tucson did not make the guide, there are a couple of names on the list that have Tucson ties:

• FnB in Scottsdale, which earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand for serving high-quality food at a great value, is co-owned by Pavle Milić, who opened his Los Milics Restaurant and Tasting Room on East Congress Street in the spring.

• Milić’s FnB chef-partner Charleen Badman, a Tucson native, earned a Michelin Mindful Voices Award for her pioneering local farm-to-table supply chains, food advocacy and seasonal vegetable-forward menus.

• René Andrade, chef-owner of Bacanora and Huarachis Taqueria in Phoenix, was honored with the Michelin Young Chef Award. Andrade’s former business partners, Armando Hernandez and Nadia Holguin, opened Tortilla Chiwas in Tucson's Barrio Hollywood on Thursday.

Other Arizona restaurants and honors that made the inaugural Michelin Southwest Guide:

• Michelin Sommelier Award went to John Germain of Reserve in Scottsdale.

• In addition to FnB, Bib Gourmand honors went to the Phoenix restaurants Huarachis Taqueria, kid sister, Little Miss BBQ, Lom Wong, Pizzeria Bianco and Valentine.

• Michelin Guide Recommended, which recognizes verified quality and culinary mastery according to strict global standards, went to Atria in Flagstaff; Phoenix’s Bacanora, Christopher’s at Wrigley Mansion, Fry Bread House, Glai Baan, Latha, Pretty Penny and Tratto; Scottsdale’s Hush Public House, Reserve and ShinBay; and Indibar in Paradise Valley.